Option to work at home a hit with Intel staff

A
three-month pilot scheme to introduce flexible working practices at IT company Intel
found that job satisfaction increased and staff were more likely to meet
deadlines.

The scheme, which involved 70 employees in the IT department, was introduced
in October 2000 to monitor the effectiveness of flexible working practices.

Sally Jeeves, Intel’s HR development representative, said, "We started
the pilot as we see flexible working as a great retention tool. The IT
department was chosen as all its employees had access to laptops."

Employees were encouraged by their managers to work one to two days a week
outside the office. The HR team then sent out questionnaires to the employees
participating in the scheme.

Jeeves said, "The overwhelming verdict from our employees was that the
scheme was good for improving work-life balance. In fact, they rated the scheme
eight out of 10 for this."

The next stage for Intel will be to discuss the results of the scheme with
its site committee next month and decide whether to roll it out across the
company.